Defender ‘expected’ to join Chelsea this summer as further additions planned

Sevilla centre-back Jules Kounde is ‘expected’ to join Chelsea this summer in the first addition of what could be busy summer following the club takeover.

Todd Boehly is expected to become the new owner of the Blues in the coming days, which will finally put to bed any fears of transfer bans this summer. And, Kounde is thought to be the first planned signing of the new era, with the Sevilla man having been chased for over a year by the club.

Kounde nearly joined Chelsea last summer, only for negotiations to fall through with Chelsea unwilling to meet the Frenchman’s release clause. This summer, however, is a different matter, and Thomas Tuchel’s side are in desperate need of defensive additions.

Abdessamad Ezzalzouli of FC Barcelona, Jules Koundé of Sevilla FC during the La Liga Santander match between Sevilla v FC Barcelona at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan on December 21, 2021 in Sevilla Spain (Photo by David S. Bustamante/Soccrates/Getty Images).

Both Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen are leaving the club for free, leaving a complete dearth of top-quality centre-backs in west London, and two are expected to arrive.

Beyond Kounde, the Blues are also on the lookout for a left-centre back, and are thought to hold an interest in Pau Torres, Andrea Bastoni and Josko Gvardiol. The latter is likely off the table, having already openly claimed he will be at RB Leipzig next season, while Torres and Bastoni are also both being looked at by London rivals Tottenham as well as Manchester United.

Busy summer ahead

A busy summer is sure to be in store for Chelsea, with several forward options set to depart. The futures of Marcos Alsonso, Cesar Azpilicueta and Jorginho also remain in the air.

Chelsea are now open to sell Hakim Ziyech in case they will receive an important proposal. 🔵 #CFC

Marcos Alonso will leave with Barça still leading the race – talks soon with N’Golo Kanté to discuss his contract situation, Jorginho’s waiting too.

More: https://t.co/MXeh7XeKfs pic.twitter.com/K8OuO8zzkL

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) May 24, 2022

As per the Telegraph, ‘selling one or all of Werner, Ziyech and Pulisic could see Chelsea consider a move for Raheem Sterling’ while ‘Christian Pulisic could consider his future if Chelsea receive a bid for the American.’

Now able to do transfer business, it is set to be a very long window for the Blues.

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Premier League table

#	Team	MP	D	P
1	Manchester City	38	73	93
2	Liverpool FC	38	68	92
3	Chelsea FC	38	43	74
4	Tottenham Hotspur	38	29	71
5	Arsenal FC	38	13	69
6	Manchester United	38	0	58
7	West Ham United	38	9	56
8	Leicester City	38	3	52
9	Brighton & Hove Albion	38	-2	51
10	Wolverhampton Wanderers	38	-5	51
11	Newcastle United	38	-18	49
12	Crystal Palace	38	4	48
13	Brentford FC	38	-8	46
14	Aston Villa	38	-2	45
15	Southampton FC	38	-24	40
16	Everton FC	38	-23	39
17	Leeds United	38	-37	38
18	Burnley FC	38	-19	35
19	Watford FC	38	-43	23
20	Norwich City	38	-61	22

Player	Team	Goals
Salah, Mohamed	Liverpool FC	23
Son, Heung Min	Tottenham Hotspur	23
Ronaldo, Cristiano	Manchester United	18
Kane, Harry	Tottenham Hotspur	17
Mane, Sadio	Liverpool FC	16
De Bruyne, Kevin	Manchester City	15
Jota, Diogo	Liverpool FC	15
Vardy, Jamie	Leicester City	15
Zaha, Wilfried	Crystal Palace	14
Sterling, Raheem	Manchester City	13
Bowen, Jarrod	West Ham United	12
Maddison, James	Leicester City	12
Toney, Ivan	Brentford FC	12
Mount, Mason	Chelsea FC	11
Saka, Bukayo	Arsenal FC	11
Mahrez, Riyad	Manchester City	11
Richarlison	Everton FC	11
Pukki, Teemu	Norwich City	11
Raphinha	Leeds United	11
Watkins, Ollie	Aston Villa	11

Player	Team	Red Cards	Yellow Cards
Mings, Tyrone	Aston Villa	0	11
Xhaka, Granit	Arsenal FC	1	10
Tarkowski, James	Burnley FC	0	11
Firpo, Junior	Leeds United	0	11
Fernandes, Bruno	Manchester United	0	10
Gallagher, Conor	Crystal Palace	0	10
Brownhill, Josh	Burnley FC	0	10
Bednarek, Jan	Southampton FC	0	10
Bissouma, Yves	Brighton & Hove Albion	0	10
Moreno, Rodrigo	Leeds United	0	9
Neves, Ruben	Wolverhampton Wanderers	0	9
Romeu, Oriol	Southampton FC	0	9
Rudiger, Antonio	Chelsea FC	0	9
Mctominay, Scott	Manchester United	0	9
Salisu, Mohammed	Southampton FC	0	8
Ronaldo, Cristiano	Manchester United	0	8
Toney, Ivan	Brentford FC	0	8
Dennis, Emmanuel	Watford FC	0	7
Richarlison	Everton FC	0	8
Pogba, Paul	Manchester United	1	7

Player	Team	Assists
Salah, Mohamed	Liverpool FC	13
Alexander-Arnold, Trent	Liverpool FC	12
Barnes, Harvey	Leicester City	11
Kane, Harry	Tottenham Hotspur	10
Bowen, Jarrod	West Ham United	10
Mount, Mason	Chelsea FC	10
Robertson, Andy	Liverpool FC	10
Maddison, James	Leicester City	9
James, Reece	Chelsea FC	9
Pogba, Paul	Manchester United	9
Cancelo, Joao	Manchester City	9
De Bruyne, Kevin	Manchester City	8
Jesus, Gabriel	Manchester City	8
Kulusevski, Dejan	Tottenham Hotspur	8
Son, Heung Min	Tottenham Hotspur	7
Saka, Bukayo	Arsenal FC	7
Antonio, Michail	West Ham United	7
Lacazette, Alexandre	Arsenal FC	7
Mbeumo, Bryan	Brentford FC	7
Fernandes, Bruno	Manchester United	6